Happy Birthday
One lovely advantage in gifting a handkerchief – the recipient has a permanent reminder that they’re considered special. Once, when I was addressing an audience about “Leaving A Legacy”, a mother came up to me afterward, and withdrew a letter from her purse. It had obviously been read hundreds of times, as the folds were taped and re-taped multiple times. The letter was from her son, telling her how much he loved her. “I read it almost every day” she told me, her eyes glistening, “more than that, actually, when I’m having a particularly difficult time. I know he is busy, and I...
Read MoreBirthday Cards
“A good man measures his life not in the number of his years, but in the quality of his friends.” Todd Stocker As we learned in our first birthday blog, a popular custom in years past (and for some of us, still today 🙂 ) has been to tuck a hankie in a card to say Congratulations and Many Happy Returns. A handkerchief card from Millie to her sister Flo in 1935 Other fun gifts to receive were “secret message” handkerchiefs, much like we saw in our Secret Love Valentine handkies. The message is revealed when the handkerchief is folded. Many handkerchiefs were designed to unfold...
Read MoreArtist’s View of New York
“London is satisfied, Paris is resigned, but New York is always hopeful. Always it believes that something good is about to come off, and it must hurry to meet it.” Dorothy Parker Just hearing the words New York conjures up more images than the mind can hold – from Wall Street to Park Avenue, Broadway to Central Park – the people, the pace, the passion – it’s all overwhelming. How could anyone attempt to capture the magic of the Big Apple in a simple handkerchief? Yet a select few have managed to portray the crackle and pop, the magnetism that is “the City”. Artists Carl Tait and Tammis...
Read MoreArtiste Extraordinaire
When I found this handkerchief with its soft gray border showcasing Van Gogh’s painting of a gypsy caravan, I knew exactly what I had to do – gift it to my artist friend Elizabeth Barlow. . . Van Gogh invites the viewer to join this vibrant and inviting scene of sun washed travelers with their gaily painted carts. So, too, Elizabeth’s paintings draw you in; they tempt you to pause and enjoy. Her art tells a story, beckoning you to discover the unspoken tale contained in the image. Let’s take a look. This painting is titled Happy Birthday, and you know from the sheen of the satin the present...
Read MoreRitva Coffron – the Joie de Vivre Artist
A Ritva Coffron handkerchief can’t help but make you smile. Light and playful, cheerful and heartwarming, Coffron designs welcome you with joyful exuberance. Like many staff artists who worked for a corporation, Coffron’s work went unsigned, and we might never have discovered her identity without the help of her niece Marja. Luckily, Marja found this blog, and generously shared her handkerchief collection and stories about her aunt. As we know, some textile designers like Tammis Keefe, Carl Tait, or Tom Lamb, had exclusives for their designs with large retailers – B. Altman, Neiman...
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